Illusions
by Keyku
Summary: Sometimes, things aren't always what they seem and sometimes it's better that way. One-shot drabble.


Do I trust Father? Of course I do! His words and the countless others' I've met on my journey have told me that this is the only way to bring about the peace that has been so painfully shattered and taken from our little Tazmily village…It's all I have to go on…I have to do this. Once I pull it, there's no going back.

I stare at the glowing needle as I stand before it, listening to its low humming…The humming of death and destruction or of life and peace… I stand there, mesmerized, listening, thinking to myself…What is this I'm feeling? Some sort of…

"Son, hurry and pull the needle!"

I snap out of my daze-like dream, my father's voice brings me back to reality, reminding me of what I need to do…I take one last glance over my shoulder.

Big mistake.

The image causes a replay of the actions that happened prior to where I'm standing…The image of my brother lifeless, cold, and dead in my Father's arms…I can't bear it anymore. I tear my gaze away from them, and grab hold of the needle with both hands, thinking as loud as I can of my wish.

_Please…Mister Dragon, Sir…Please, restore life back in Tazmily…Please…Bring back my Mother and Claus…_

Tears.

_Please bring everything back to the way it used to be…How it was meant to be!_

And with that, I use every bit of remaining courage and strength to lift the needle, raising my hands over my head as it shoots into the sky. The ground rumbles and quakes below me and I close my eyes, still keeping that wish in my heart in hopes that the dragon will hear it.

_Please…_

I squeeze my eyes shut, pressing my hands over my chest. Light engulfs everything.

.0.0.0.

My eyes slowly open. I groggily look around. Where am I? I'm so exhausted…I sit up and rub my eyes then open them again so they can refocus and I can make out my surroundings. A big bed to my right. It's empty. An empty space on my left…It's empty, too.

I'm…Home? Geez, what a dream. Mother and Claus are up early…As always. I hop out of bed, change out of my pajamas and look into the mirror hanging on the wall. Ha, bed head. I comb my hair before going out the front door. I wonder where the rest of the villagers are. Maybe I'll see them on the way to find Claus and Mother.

As I walk, everything looks the same as before. The houses, the dirt roads, there's no sign of the train station nor the tracks…So my wish did come true! I wander into the center of town. Hmm, still no sign of Mother and Claus. They wouldn't have left to Grandpa Alec's without me, would they? Maybe Claus would…As a joke. I pout at the thought. _That would be so mean though! Making me worry like that!_ I sigh as I carry on. I should probably just thoroughly explore town before going off on my own to Grandpa Alec's house.

Where is everyone? Not a soul in sight. I stop back where I started: The center of Tazmily. Where haven't I looked yet? Ah! The cemetery! I make a dash North.

As I slow down, people start to reappear. Tessie…Lighter and Fuel…I pass by them, but they don't seem to take much notice of me…Odd. Oh well, I continue onwards.

I turn to look to my right where the cemetery has a small separate little cliff. The place where my Mother was buried. Something inside me tenses up. _Mother's not there anymore, she's alive and Claus is too! _I hesitantly make my way towards it.

To my surprise, there's nothing there, just an open, grassy green spot…Then where is she? And where is my brother? I walk forward a little more, just enough so I'm safely as close to the edge as possible and can see out into the horizon.

Suddenly, I hear soft sobs coming from behind me. Who..? I turn to face the cause of the noise and my eyes widen.

"Claus! Mom!" I cry out, rushing to their sides, sitting between the two. "What's the matter?" I ask, extremely concerned.

They don't answer.

"Mom? Claus?" I ask again.

The sobbing continues

"I-it's okay…Don't cry, Everything'll be okay…" I tell them, trying to comfort my crying sibling and Mother. "I…I have some nut bread i-if you want some…" I timidly offer, digging into the pocket of my shorts and holding out the bread to one then the other. Neither looks up, neither stops sobbing.

"Do you want some water? I'll go get it!" I think of everything possible. "We could go home! Are you tired?" I ask, my voice starting to tremble with desperation as I walk in front of them to get their attention. "What's wrong?"

Nothing.

My body shakes, and I fall to my knees, my gaze frantically switching from my Mother then to Claus. "I…I don't know what you want…I…I don't know what to do…Please, stop crying…" I plead, my voice barely above a whisper now as I crawl over to wrap my arms around my mother for a moment then Claus. I start to sob, too.

Caroline and Angie walk by us, they seemed to be taken aback slightly. As I calm down, they're whispering, but I can hear everything they're saying.

"Mom, what wrong with Lucas?" Angie asks.

"He's…Just going through a rough time, Hun" She responds, sounding as if she's in a hurry "Now c'mon, we have to get home!"

"He should really get over himself" Angie retorts, disgust more than evident in her tone "Does he really think just wasting his time in front of a couple of—"

"Home, Angie!" Caroline says between her teeth, pulling her daughter away from where they're standing, obviously forcing a smile on her face.

"I think Bronson should lock him up…He's lost it."

I glare at my right, having my left cheek pressed against Claus. "Don't listen to her, Claus! She's just jealous that she doesn't have a brother like you…" I say, rubbing my brother's tomb stone. "They're ALL just jealous…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> So I had a dream one day and I decided I had to write it out and this was the outcome.

What if The dragon could only restore the world but not the people in it? Yeah, I know, I'm mean to Lucas.

Either he's gone crazy or he's in denial. You choose.


End file.
